PSYCHEDELICS - Sciencemadness.org

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____________________________________________________ Psychedelics
the behavior of my host and guide. This man, of some local
importance in the province of Alhucemas, showed quite vary-
ing responses to the topic in different circumstances. When
with men who were his social inferiors but not his subordi-
nates, he would smile and speak affably of kif as if it were a
fine wine, an experience that all should enjoy. He would refer
to himself as a heavy user and describe the pleasure he de-
rived. By contrast, when he was with people of like or su-
perior station, he would minimize, but not deny, his use of
kif. He would then portray himself as a light or intermit-
tent user. One of his friends, a caid (mayor or chief) of a
small village, showed a similar "selective" attitude. During
lunch with him and the lesser officials of the town, the
lesser officials smilingly admitted to regular smoking of kif,
but the caid denied any use at all. After lunch, as we drove
over the winding mountain roads to the next town, the caid,
who accepted the proffered ride, volunteered that he used
it at home regularly. He said it would not be proper to speak
of such things in front of his employees. A parallel might
be seen in the attitudes in contemporary America toward
alcohol.
The chief differences in the use of cannabis between the
United States and Morocco are smoking technique, pharma-
cology, and formality. Although kif is more readily available
and cheaper in Morocco, it appeared from sessions with the
Moroccan users that while much more is smoked than in
the United States, much less is actually ingested. The prac-
tice of inhaling but not holding the breath might decrease
significantly the amount of active principle absorbed. Com-
bination of kif with tobacco would also decrease the amount
of cannabis actually ingested. These differences in technique
make comparison of dosage difficult.
Tobacco itself seems to play an important role in the smok-
ing of kif. In several of the kif sessions, I would substitute
pure kif blossoms for the standard mixture when the pipe
passed my way. The response was fairly uniform. The re-
cipient would take a few puffs, wait until he felt that I wasn't
looking, discreetly discard the contents, and reload the pipe
from his own supply. The respondent indicated only that he
preferred kif-and-tobacco. It is hard to know whether or not